Novel systems and methods for interacting with a client device

ABSTRACT

Novel systems and methods for interacting with a client device are described. The network-based systems and methods of the present teachings are capable of seeking feedback regarding individual performance and seeking information relating to work deliverable, such as assigning individuals tasks, conveying a “to-do list,” sharing an agenda between two or more users and managing goals of teams and/or individuals.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/240,509 filed on Oct. 12, 2015, which is incorporated herein byreference for all purposes.

FIELD

The present teachings generally relate to novel network-based systemsand methods for interacting with a client device. More particularly, thepresent teachings relate to network-based systems and methodsfor—seeking feedback regarding individual performance, assigningindividuals tasks, conveying a “to-do list,” sharing an agenda betweentwo or more users and managing goals of teams and/or individuals.

BACKGROUND

Employee feedback is not only an integral part of personal andprofessional growth of an employee, but it also allows an employer toset goals and expectations for its employees, ultimately contributing toproduce a successful workforce that is both productive and of highmorale. Regardless of whether the feedback is intended for an employee,an employer or a third party, it is most effective when it is specificand timely. For a feedback to be specific it is effective when itrelates to a particular job or task and for a feedback to be timely, itis effective when the job is complete or certain job milestones arecomplete.

Thus, there is a need to seek and obtain feedback that is both timelyand specific.

SUMMARY

To this end, the present invention offers novel systems and methods ofinteracting with a client device that allow for, among other things,obtaining timely and specific feedback. Additionally, these systems andmethods allow seeking timely and specific information relating to workdeliverables, such as providing information to facilitate assignment ofindividuals tasks, conveying a “to-do list,” sharing information tofacilitate setting an agenda between two or more users and managinggoals of teams and/or individuals.

In one aspect, the present teachings provide methods of seekingfeedback. One exemplar feedback seeking method includes: (1) receiving,at a feedback server from a feedback plugin, information relating topotential mention of one or more individuals to gain insight intowhether identity of one or more of the individuals is present in anelectronic content; (2) identifying one or more relevant individuals, ifinformation relating to identity of one or more of the individuals ispresent in the information relating to potential mention of one or moreof the individuals obtained from the receiving step of (1), and if oneor more of the individuals are those that the feedback server determinesthe user to be qualified to provide feedback for; (3) collecting, usingthe feedback server, additional information about one or more of therelevant individuals to generate a user profile for each of one or moreof the relevant individuals; (4) transmitting, from the feedback serverto the feedback plugin, the user profile, which is more informativeabout one or more of the relevant individuals than the informationrelating to potential mention of one or more of the individuals that wasreceived at the feedback server; and (5) displaying and/or causing todisplay, using the feedback server and/or the feedback plugin and on oradjacent to the electronic content on the client device, a userinterface and/or a panel for obtaining feedback on at least some of therelevant individuals.

In the exemplar method described above, the user interface and/or thepanel may be constructed using the user profile, and during the step ofdisplaying and/or the causing to display, an electronic content providermay provide the specified electronic content. Further, in thisconfiguration, the feedback server and/or the feedback plugin providethe user interface and/or the panel, and the feedback server isdifferent from the electronic content provider.

Moreover, the information relating to potential mention of one or moreof the individuals does not necessarily convey knowledge about one ormore of the individuals. At the time when the electronic content is orwas active on the client device, the feedback plugin is communicativelycoupled to the client device (which is associated with a user). In thisarrangement, the feedback server is communicatively coupled to thefeedback plugin through a network.

In another aspect, the present teachings provide another type offeedback seeking method. One example of this type of method includes:(1) receiving a signal from a client device associated with a user thatan electronic mail is active on the client device, and the electronicmail identifies a sender and one or more recipients of the electronicmail; (2) conveying information regarding the sender and one or more ofthe recipients to a feedback server; (3) identifying, using the feedbackserver and based on the information regarding the sender and one or moreof the recipients, one or more relevant individuals that the user isqualified to provide feedback for and one or more of the relevantindividuals include at least one of the sender and/or one or more of therecipients; and (4) displaying and/or causing to display, on the clientdevice, a user interface or a panel for seeking feedback from the userregarding individual performance of the relevant individuals.

In yet another aspect, the present teachings provide another type offeedback seeking method. One example of this type of method includes:(1) receiving a notification at a feedback plugin that a specifiedelectronic content is active on a client device (which is associatedwith a user), and the feedback plugin is communicatively coupled to theclient device; (2) retrieving, using the feedback plugin and in responseto the receiving of the notification, at least a portion of thespecified electronic content from the client device into the feedbackplugin; (3) analyzing, using the feedback plugin, at least the portionof the specified electronic content to identify information relating topotential mention of one or more individuals in the specified electroniccontent; (4) conveying the information relating to potential mention ofone or more of the individuals from the feedback plugin to a feedbackserver to gain insight into whether the information relating topotential mention of one or more of the individuals in the specifiedcontent is related to one or more relevant individuals. In this method,one or more relevant individuals are those that the user is qualified toprovide feedback for; (5) accepting from the feedback server the userprofile for one or more of the relevant individuals; and (5) displayingand/or causing to display, using the feedback server and/or the feedbackplugin and on or adjacent to the electronic content on the clientdevice, a user interface and/or a panel for obtaining feedback on atleast some of the relevant individuals. In this embodiment of thepresent teachings, the user interface and/or the panel is constructedusing the user profile. Furthermore, in the displaying and/or thecausing to display step, the web server provides the specifiedelectronic content and the feedback server and/or the feedback pluginprovides the user interface and/or the panel. In this configuration, thefeedback server is different from the web server.

In yet another aspect, the present teachings provide another typefeedback seeking method. One example of this type of method includes:(1) receiving a notification at a feedback plugin that a specifiedelectronic content is active on a client device (which is associatedwith a user) and the feedback plugin is communicatively coupled to theclient device; (2) retrieving, using the feedback plugin and in responseto the receiving of the notification, at least a portion of thespecified electronic content from the client device into the feedbackplugin; (3) analyzing, using the feedback plugin, at least the portionof the specified electronic content to identify information relating topotential mention of one or more individuals in the specified electroniccontent; (4) conveying the information relating to potential mention ofone or more of the individuals from the feedback plugin to a feedbackserver to gain insight into the information relating to potentialmention of one or more of the individuals in the specified content; (5)identifying, using the feedback server, one or more relevant individualsbased on the information relating to potential mention of one or more ofthe individuals identified in the analyzing step in (3); (6) collecting,using the feedback server, additional information about one or more ofthe relevant individuals to generate a user profile for each of one ormore of the relevant individuals; (7) transmitting, from the feedbackserver to the feedback plugin, the user profile relating to at leastsome of the relevant individuals that the user is qualified to providefeedback for, and the user profile provided by the feedback server ismore informative about one or more of the relevant individuals than theinformation relating to potential mention of one or more of theindividuals; and (8) displaying and/or causing to display, using thefeedback server and/or the feedback plugin and on or adjacent to theelectronic content on the client device, a user interface and/or a panelfor obtaining feedback on at least some of the relevant individuals. Theuser interface and/or the panel may be constructed using the userprofile. In the displaying and/or the causing to display step of (8),the web server provides the specified electronic content and thefeedback server and/or the feedback plugin provides the user interfaceand/or the panel. In this configuration, the feedback server isdifferent from the web server.

In one aspect, the present arrangements provide systems for seekingfeedback. The system includes: (1) a feedback server containinginstructions for providing feedback and/or work deliverables to theclient device; (2) a network serving as a communication interfacebetween the feedback server and a feedback plugin; and (3) the feedbackplugin is located on the client device and receives information and/orsignals from a mail client and/or a website.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a network-based platform, according to one embodiment ofthe present arrangements, and that couples multiple computing machines,e.g., a server and multiple client devices (e.g., a desktop computer anda mobile device) to each other for displaying a user interface and/or apanel for seeking feedback on certain individuals.

FIG. 1B shows a blocks diagram of internal components of one or more ofthe server and/or the client devices, according to one embodiment of thepresent arrangements and that are shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a feedback seeking system, according toone embodiment of the present arrangements, for seeking feedback using aclient device that has installed thereon a web browser thatcommunicatively couples to a feedback plugin, which through a networkconnects to a feedback server such that the feedback plugin conveyssignals and/or information to and from the web browser to the feedbackserver.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a system, according to anotherembodiment of the present arrangements, for seeking feedback using aclient device that has installed thereon an application-based mailclient that communicatively couples to a feedback plugin, which througha network connects to a feedback server such that the feedback pluginconveys signals and/or information to and from the application-basedmail client to the feedback server.

FIG. 4 shows a process flow diagram for a method, according to oneembodiment of the present teachings, for seeking feedback forindividuals mentioned in an electronic mail.

FIG. 5 shows a process flow diagram for a method, according to oneembodiment of the present teachings, for seeking feedback forindividuals that are mentioned in a specified electronic content (e.g.,a predefined website, a predefined web mail or a predefined applicationwindow).

FIG. 6 shows a process flow diagram for a method, according to yetanother embodiment of the present teachings, for seeking feedback forindividuals that are mentioned in a specified electronic content.

FIG. 7A shows a screen shot, according to one embodiment of the presentteachings and that shows an exemplar user interface and/or a panel thatis disposed adjacent to an electronic mail that is displayed on theclient device.

FIG. 7B shows another screen shot, according to another embodiment ofthe present teachings and that shows the exemplar user interface and/orthe panel of FIG. 7A in a collapsed form so that more viewable realestate is available to the user for viewing the electronic content(e.g., website, web mail or application window).

FIG. 8 shows a table, according to one embodiment of the presentteachings and that shows exemplar code that implements certain salientfunctions of the feedback plugin.

FIG. 9 shows a table, according to one embodiment of the presentteachings and that shows exemplar code that implements certain salientfunctions of the feedback server.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be practiced without limitation to some or all of thesespecific details. By way of example, although various examples andembodiments describe systems and methods for seeking feedback forindividual performance, the same systems and methods of the presentteaching equally apply to effectively assigning individual tasks,conveying a “to-do list,” sharing an agenda between two or more usersand managing individual and/or team goals. In other instances,well-known process steps have not been described in detail in order tonot unnecessarily obscure the invention.

Embodiments presented herein describe systems and methods for, amongother things, effecting interactions with a client device, over acomputer network. In preferred implementations of these embodiments, auser who is performing a task, such as reviewing a web page or anapplication window, is automatically served with a user interface and/ora panel that seeks feedback regarding performance of certain individualsthat are mentioned on the web page or the application window. Thesystems and methods of the present teachings may be incorporated in aclient device that accesses through a network (e.g., the Internet) afeedback server, which facilitates displaying the feedback userinterface and/or panel on the client device. As a result, the novelsystems and methods of the present teachings automatically seek feedbackthat is both—timely and specific. The feedback is timely because itoccurs real-time when a particular job is underway. The feedback is alsospecific as the user interface and/or panel allows the user to answerspecific questions that are relevant to the job when the job isunderway.

FIG. 1A is an illustrative schematic of one embodiment of the presentarrangements that includes a feedback seeking platform 100 includingmultiple computing devices, shown as three exemplar machines 102, 104and 106. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, computing device 102 is afeedback server and computing devices 104 and 106 are referred to as“client devices.” A network 108 (e.g., the Internet) couples feedbackserver 102 and client devices 104 and/or 106, to enable communicationamongst them. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, anycomputing devices (e.g., server, desktop computer, laptop computer,tablet, or mobile device) may be used as one of feedback server 102 andclient devices 104 and 106 and configured to perform some or all of thefunctions contemplated in the present teachings. Furthermore, system 100may include multiple computing machines to serve the functions of eachof feedback server 102 and each of client devices 104 and/or 106.

Representative client devices 104 and 106 (hereinafter sometimes alsoreferred to as “user devices”) include a smart phone, a portable digitalassistant, a tablet or a stationary computing appliance. In certainembodiments of the present arrangements, each or any one of feedbackserver 102 and client devices 104 and/or 106 are a wireless machine,which is in wireless communication with network 108. In this embodimentof the present arrangements, feedback server 102 is involved duringinteraction and data flows to and from any of client devices 104 and/or106. In general, feedback server 102 may include one or more computersand data storage devices, and may produce programming instructions,files, or data (e.g., user profile data for one or more relevantindividuals) that may be transmitted over network 108 to client devices104 and/or 106, which may be used by a user to provide performancefeedback for one or more of relevant individuals, assign tasks to theseindividuals, convey a “to-do list” relevant to these individuals, sharean agenda between two or more individuals and manage individual and/orteam goals.

In certain embodiments of the present arrangements, as noted above,feedback seeking platform 100 includes several components, including butnot limited to feedback server 102 and a plurality of client devices 104and/or 106, which are programmed to cooperatively achieve one or more ofthe following functions: (1) receiving a notification that a specifiedelectronic content is active on a client device (e.g., 104 or 106),which is associated with a user; (2) retrieving, at a discrete locationinside the client device, at least a portion of the specified electroniccontent for analysis; (3) analyzing, at the discrete location inside theclient device, at least the portion of the specified electronic contentto identify information relating to potential mention of one or moreindividuals in the specified electronic content; (4) receiving, at thefeedback server 102, information relating to potential mention of one ormore individuals in the specified electronic content that is or wasactive on a client device; (5) identifying, using feedback server 102,one or more relevant individuals, if information relating to identity ofone or more of the individuals is present in the information relating topotential mention of one or more of the individuals obtained from theabove-mentioned receiving step in (1), and if one or more of theindividuals are those that feedback server 102 determines a user to bequalified to provide feedback for; (6) collecting additional informationabout one or more of the relevant individuals to generate a user profileabout such relevant individuals; (7) transmitting the user profile fromfeedback server 102 to client device (e.g., 104 or 106); and (8)displaying and/or causing to display, on the client device, a userinterface and/or a panel (e.g., constructed using the user profile) forseeking feedback on at least some of the relevant individuals, assigningtasks to relevant individuals, conveying a “to-do list” to relevantindividuals, sharing an agenda between the user and one or more relevantindividuals and managing goals for one or more of the relevantindividuals and/or teams.

In one embodiment of the present arrangements, client devices 104 and/or106 are programmed to allow users to communicate with one another usinga messaging system. To this end, feedback server 102 may serve as anintermediary in the communication, and stores information regardingfeedback or task messages exchanged. A user using one or more ofcomputing devices 104 and 106, in certain embodiments of the presentarrangements, is an individual or a representative of an individual(such as a manager or supervisor in a company).

As shown in FIG. 1B, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentarrangements, each of server 102 and client devices 104 and 106 includetheir own network interface 110, a memory 112, a processor 114, adisplay interface 116, and an input device 118. The present teachingsrecognize that the network interface 110, memory 112, and processor 114of each of server 102 and client devices 104 and 106 are configured suchthat a program stored in memory 112 may be executed by processor 114 toaccept different types of input (e.g., notification and/or signals fromwebsites or applications) and/or provide output (e.g., a user interfaceand/or a panel) through network interface 110 over network 108 toanother server/client device on system 100 of FIG. 1A.

Network interface 110 of each of server 102 and client devices 104 and106 is used to communicate with another device on system 100 over awired or wireless network, which may be, for example and withoutlimitation, a cellular telephone network, a WiFi network or a WiMaxnetwork or a Blue Tooth network, and then to other telephones through apublic switched telephone network (PSTN) or to a satellite, or over theInternet. Memory 112 of devices 102, 104 and/or 106 includes programmingrequired to operate each or any one of server 102 and client devices 104and/or 106, such as an operating system or virtual machine instructions,and may include portions that store information or programminginstructions obtained over network 108, or that are input by the user.In one embodiment of the present arrangements, display interface 116 andinput device 118 of client device 106 are physically combined as a touchscreen 116/118, providing the functions of display and input.

FIG. 2 shows details inside a feedback-seeking platform 200, accordingto one embodiment of the present arrangements. Feedback seeking platform200 includes a feedback server 202 connecting through a network 208(e.g., the Internet) to client devices 204/206, each of which aresubstantially similar to their counterparts, i.e., feedback server 102,network 108, and client devices 104/106 shown in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 2,each client device (e.g., each of 204 and 206) has installed thereon aweb browser, which is communicatively coupled to a web server (not shownto simplify illustration). Further, the web browser, installed on eachclient device, is communicatively coupled to a feedback plugin. Forexample, a web browser 210, which is installed on client device 204, iscommunicatively coupled to a feedback plugin 214, and a web browser 222,which is installed on client device 206, is communicatively coupled tofeedback plugin 226.

Each of feedback plugins 214 and 226, are bi-directionally coupledthrough a first bi-directional coupling 216A/216B, respectively, tonetwork 208, and then from network 208 through a second bi-directionalcoupling 220 to feedback server 202. As a result of this arrangement,feedback plugins 214 and 226 are configured to transmit information toand from feedback server 202.

The web server hosts on client devices 204 and 206 a website 212/224,respectively. In one preferred arrangement, each website 212/224 iscommunicatively coupled to provide information to one of feedbackplugins 214/226. As will be explained later, this arrangement of website212/224, feedback plugins 214/226 and feedback server 202 allowsfeedback seeking platform 200 to automatically obtain feedback from auser, in real-time, i.e., as the user is viewing a website (e.g.,Salesforce.com, Gmail, Jiva, Zendesk or Outlook.com). If the questions,in an user interface and/or panel designed to elicit feedback areeffective, then the feedback obtained is both timely and of requisitespecificity.

Feedback seeking platform 200 is not limited to only seeking feedback,but also extends to assigning tasks to relevant individuals, conveying a“to-do list” to relevant individuals, sharing an agenda between the userand one or more relevant individuals and managing goals of the userand/or one or more of the relevant individuals and/or teams. As aresult, feedback seeking platform 200 may be configured to operate as atask assigning platform, a list conveying platform, an agenda sharingplatform or a goal management platform that do not necessarily providefeedback. FIG. 3 described below relates to applications hosted on theclient device, and is similarly not limited to providing feedback.

FIG. 3 illustrates that a timely feedback of requisite specificity isalso obtained by the present arrangements when the client device hostsan application such as an electronic mail program (e.g., Outlook in theApple OS X Operating System). As shown in this figure, a feedbackseeking platform 300, according to another embodiment of the presentarrangements, is arranged to include a feedback server 302, clientdevices 304/306, a network 308, feedback plugins 314/326, a firstbi-directional coupling 316A/316B, a second bi-directional coupling 320in a manner that is substantially similar to their counterparts,feedback server 202, client devices 204/206, a network 208, feedbackplugins 214/226, a first bi-directional coupling 216A/216B, a secondbi-directional coupling 220 of FIG. 2. As a result of this arrangement,feedback plugins 314/326 of FIG. 3 are communicatively coupled not to awebsite, but to an application 310/322, e.g., the Outlook electronicmail program in the Apple OS X Operating System, respectively, installedon client devices 304/306. By way of example, the application in clientdevices 304/306 of FIG. 3 is a mail client 312/324, respectively, thatis communicatively coupled to a mail server (not shown to simplifyillustration). In this configuration, the mail server serves anelectronic mail on the mail client and the feedback plugins receivenotifications and monitor changes to the mail client displayed or activeon the client device.

FIG. 4 shows a feedback seeking process 400, according to one embodimentof the present teachings and that may be used to obtain, among otherthings, feedback on individual performance. Feedback seeking process maybegin with a step 402, which includes receiving information relating topotential mention of one or more individuals to gain insight intowhether identity of one or more of the individuals is present in anelectronic content. The electronic content may be a website, a web mailor an application window. In this step, the electronic content is or wasactive on a client device when such information is received preferablyat a feedback plugin (e.g., feedback plugin 214/314, 226/326 of FIGS. 2and 3, respectively). Moreover, such information does not necessarilyconvey knowledge about one or more of the individuals. Rather, itconveys information that may refer to one or more individuals or thatmay identify one or more individuals.

Next, a step 404 includes identifying one or more relevant individuals.If information relating to identity of one or more of the individuals ispresent in such information obtained from receiving step 402, and if oneor more of the individuals are those that the user is qualified toprovide feedback for, then one or more of such individuals areidentified as one or more relevant individuals.

Feedback seeking process 400 then proceeds to step 406. In this step,additional information about one or more of the relevant individualsidentified in identifying step 404 are collected to generate a userprofile for each of the relevant individuals.

After the conclusion of step 406, a step 408 includes displaying and/orcausing to display, a user interface and/or a panel. This interfaceand/or panel is constructed using the user profile and preferably seeksfeedback regarding at least some of the relevant individuals.

In one preferred embodiment of the present teachings, feedback seekingprocess 400, as described above, details the salient steps involvedbetween a feedback plugin (e.g., feedback plugin 214/314, 226/326 ofFIGS. 2 and 3, respectively) and a feedback server (e.g., feedbackserver 202 and 302 of FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively). Before carrying outreceiving step 402, process 400 preferably includes a step ofsubscribing to the electronic content (e.g., website, web mail orapplication) that is capable of being accessed on the client device. Inthis step, the feedback plugin may perform a variety of functionsdepending on the type of electronic content present or active on theclient device.

By way of example, if a website is the type of electronic content thatis of interest, then process 400 includes various steps, whichpreferably begin with utilizing, via programming, a built-in applicationprogram interface (“API”) of the web browser to provide the informationdescribed in receiving step 402 or a signal relating to suchinformation. According to the programming, such information is conveyedto the feedback plugin when a predefined website is active (e.g., loadedand/or displayed) on the web browser of the client device. Once theprogramming step is complete, the feedback plugin is prepared to receiveinformation from the web browser regarding the active status of thepredefined website.

Next, an accepting step may include accepting a notification, at thefeedback plugin, that the predefined website is active on the webbrowser. Such a notification may transform the feedback plugin from anon-activated state to an activated state of operation. In the activatedstate, the feedback plugin is prepared to monitor the predefined websitefor any changes.

Before receiving step 402 commences, the feedback plugin (in itsactivated state) preferably monitors changes in the predefined websiteto identify the information relating to potential mention of one or moreof individuals. Examples of monitoring activities performed by thefeedback plugin include—screen scraping the predefined website andmonitoring for receipt of a document object model (“DOM”) mutation eventnotification from the client device when structure of a DOM associatedwith the predefined website undergoes a change. Examples of screenscraping include—monitoring content of a predefined HTML page or asection of the predefined HTML page. In this monitoring function, thefeedback plugin preferably determines if there is a change in thecontent of the predefined HTML page or a section of the predefined HTMLpage. Regardless of whether the change is in the content of thepredefined HTML page or a section of the predefined HTML page, thefeedback plugin receives information that may relate to potentialmention of one or more individuals who are candidates for receivingperformance-based feedback.

The present teachings also recognize that although when a predefinedwebsite is active on the client device, the API of the web browser maybe programmed to voluntarily communicate the active status of apredefined website to the feedback plugin, but that the ability to socommunicate is not available for other types of electronic content. Inother words, in certain instances the client device may not be able toprovide an interface that informs on the status of the electroniccontent in the absence of a prompt, which requests information regardingthe status of the electronic content; specifically, whether theelectronic content is active on the client device. An Outlook programwindow hosted on the Apple OS X Operating System is one example ofelectronic content that does not voluntarily communicate its status, andtherefore the present teachings recognize that different measures arepreferably implemented.

To this end, if an application (e.g., electronic mail program likeOutlook launched in the Apple OS X Operating System) is the type thathosts electronic content that is of interest, then process 400 includesvarious steps, which preferably begin with programming that utilizes anAccessibility API of an operating system installed on the client deviceto provide a notification when a new or different application is active(e.g., loaded and/or displayed) on the client device. Next, an acceptingstep includes accepting the notification, at the feedback plugin, that anew or different application is active on the client device. Similar tothe case with the predefine website, such a notification of a new ordifferent application being active, transforms the feedback plugin froma non-activated state to an activated state of operation. Then, amonitoring step includes monitoring, in an activated state of thefeedback plugin, the new or different application to identify theinformation relating to potential mention of one or more individuals.

By way of example, monitoring of the new or the different applicationincludes—determining, using the Accessibility API, when a user interactswith the new or the different application and/or when certain predefinedscripts are executed on the client device. User interactions, which arepreferably monitored by the feedback plugin, may include at least oneuser action chosen from group comprising mouse clicks, keyboard presses,screen touches and gestures. Examples of certain predefined scripts thatmay be executed on the client device include JavaScripts and/or DOMevents.

When a user interacts with the Outlook program, for example, the programwill execute undocumented script files, specifically script fileswritten in the language of “Apple Script.” Such script files informs onthe user interaction with the program (e.g., informing if the userclicked on an email or when reviewing a series of different emails, eachtime the user clicks on a different email). In other words, in theabove-described determining step, the Accessibility API allows afeedback plugin to “listen” for signals that are generated by theapplication, i.e., the Outlook program, and that results from the user'sinteraction with the application or when certain predefined scripts areexecuted on the client device. Stated another way, the user interactionswith the application or execution of certain predefined scripts on theclient device “prompt” the feedback plugin to send to the application arequest for status of the electronic content. In this manner, thefeedback plugin may “listen” to the application that is running on theclient device.

As explained above, the present teachings recognize that, in certaininstances, an applications window, which provides information about somerelevant individuals, is the electronic content of interest. Asexplained in connection with identifying step 404 of FIG. 4, relevantindividuals refers to individuals that a user is qualified to providefeedback for. Examples of such application windows include browserwindow, chat window and calendar window.

Regardless of whether the electronic content is a web page or anapplication window that is active on a client device, the presentteachings offer a subscribing step, which is preferably implementedbefore receiving step 402 and allows a feedback plugin to “listen” toany specified electronic content that is active on the client device.Representative types of specified electronic content includes predefinedweb page, predefined web mail and predefined application window.

In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present teachings, thesubscribing step may begin with accepting (e.g., at a feedback plugin) anotification from a client device that a specified electronic content(e.g. predefined website or a predefined application) is active (e.g.,launched) on the client device. Such a notification transforms thefeedback plugin from a non-activated state to an activated state ofoperation. Next, the subscribing step includes monitoring, e.g., using afeedback plugin in an activated state, changes in content inside thespecified electronic content to identify when such content includesinformation relating to potential mention of one or more individuals. Inone preferred embodiment of the present teachings, the feedback pluginis not monitoring at all times, but only when it is in its activatedstate of operation. Moreover, when a feedback plugin is implemented andis operating in its activated state, it identifies content that issuspected to contain the identity one or more individuals. As explainedbelow, however, that after the feedback server process the informationreceived from the feedback plugin, it is clear whether or not theinformation received at the feedback plugin (from the electronic contentactive on the client device) contains the identity of one or moreindividuals.

Referring back to the monitoring step and in the context of subscribingto a predefined applications window, monitoring of an applicationincludes detecting, using the feedback plugin, one or more monitoringsignals generated from the relevant applications to infer contextualinformation that may be informative regarding identity of one or moreindividuals. The present teachings recognize many ways to monitorapplications. Some examples presented above include monitoring userinteraction with the application and monitoring executing of unofficialscript files (e.g., files in “Apple Script” language). Other examples ofmonitoring one or more applications include monitoring a signal producedby such application(s) and the signal is not supported or not documentedby the electronic content provider or application vendor. In onescenario of this example, a software vendor may not support the signalthat the software produces. In another scenario of this example, anapplication vendor (e.g., Microsoft) and/or electronic content provider(e.g., Google providing Gmail or Yahoo providing Yahoo mail or aninternal company electronic mail system) may not support the signalproduced by the application (which may be an electronic mailapplication).

A yet another example of monitoring one or more applications includesmonitoring a signal generated by changes in the user interface of theclient device. In this example, the changes in the user interface of theclient device are independent of the user or user interactions. In onescenario of this example, an electronic mail is received at the mailclient and the monitoring function includes monitoring log files, whichtrack internal information, and that are typically useful for thesoftware vendor for, among other things, diagnostic purposes. In anotherscenario of this example, changes in the client device's user interfaceincludes new screen loading and/or content changes on the client device.Regardless of the manner in which the monitoring step and/or thesubscribing step are performed, upon the conclusion of these steps, thefeedback plugin is prepared to facilitate receiving step 402 of FIG. 4.

In one embodiment of the present teachings, receiving step 402 iscarried out using the feedback plugin (e.g., feedback plugin 214/314,226/326 of FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively) and feedback server (e.g.,feedback server 202 and 302 of FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively).Specifically, information relating to potential mention of one or moreindividuals is preferably sent from the feedback plugin and received bythe feedback server. As shown in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,the feedback plugin is communicatively coupled to a client deviceassociated with a user and the information regarding the potentialmention of one or more individuals present on the client device isreceived at the feedback plugin, and is in turn, conveyed to thefeedback server, which is communicatively coupled through a network tothe feedback plugin. The feedback server may include instructions for,among other things: (1) determining if that the information relating topotential mention of one or more individuals actually identifies anyindividuals as described in identifying step 404 of FIG. 4; (2)determining which, if any, of the identified one or more individuals arethose that the user is qualified to provide feedback for (to identifyone or more relevant individuals as described in identifying step 404);(3) collecting additional information about one or more of the relevantindividuals as identified in step 406; (4) generating a user profile foreach of the relevant individuals as identified in step 406; and (5)transmitting to the feedback plugin the user profile of one or morerelevant individuals so that the feedback plugin may appropriatelyprocess that information.

The feedback plugin, using the user profiles of one or more relevantindividuals, displays and/or causes to display on or adjacent to theelectronic content on the client device a user interface and/or panelfor obtaining feedback on at least some of the relevant individuals.During this step of displaying and/or causing to display on the clientdevice, an electronic content provider provides the electronic contentand the feedback server and/of the feedback plugin provide the userinterface and/or the panel. In a preferred configuration of the presentarrangements, the feedback server is different from the electroniccontent provider.

In one embodiment of the present arrangements, the feedback plugin ispart of or communicatively coupled to a web browser as shown in FIG. 2.In this configuration, the web browser is installed on the client deviceand hosts the electronic content preferably in the form of a web page onthe client device. Moreover, a web server, which is different from thefeedback server (e.g., feedback server 202 of FIG. 2), provides the webpage.

In one alternate embodiment of the present arrangements, the feedbackplugin is part of or communicatively coupled to a web-based mail clientpage on the client device also shown in FIG. 2. In this configuration, aweb browser hosts the web-based mail client page on the client device.As a result, a web-based mail server provides the web-based mail clientpage and the web-based mail server is different from the feedbackserver. Representative examples of a web-based mail client includeGmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo mail and their providers are Google,Microsoft, Yahoo, respectively. In some instances, third parties, whocontract with these electronic content providers, may provide theweb-based mail client.

In another alternate embodiment of the present arrangements, thefeedback plugin is communicatively coupled to an application installedon the client device as shown in FIG. 3. In this configuration, theapplication may be communicatively coupled to an electronic contentprovider, which is different from the feedback server. By way ofexample, if an application-based mail client hosts electronic mail onthe client device, then the electronic content provider is anapplication-based server, which is different from the feedback server.Representative examples of an application-based mail client includeGmail and Outlook.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a screenshot of an exemplar user interface and/orpanel that results from displaying and/or causing to display step 408 ofFIG. 4. In FIG. 7A, user interface 800 shows a feedback panel 804disposed adjacent to an electronic mail 802. In FIG. 7B, user interface800′ shows a collapsed feedback panel 804′ disposed adjacent toelectronic mail 802. In the collapsed configuration of the feedbackpanel as shown in FIG. 7B the user has more real estate available toview electronic mail 802.

In one embodiment of the present teachings, displaying and/or causing todisplay step 408 of FIG. 4 includes: (1) determining an appropriatelocation and/or size of the user interface (e.g., user interfaces 800 or800′ of FIGS. 7A and 7B) and/or the panel (e.g., feedback panel 804 or804′ of FIGS. 7A and 7B) for seeking input, such as seeking feedbackregarding individual performance, assigning tasks to one or morerelevant individuals, conveying a “to-do list” to one or more relevantindividuals, sharing an agenda with one or more relevant individuals andmanaging goals of the user and one or more individuals and/or team; and(2) positioning the user interface and/or the panel for gatheringfeedback next to the electronic content (e.g., electronic mail 802 ofFIGS. 7A and 7B).

The user interface (e.g., user interfaces 800 or 800′ of FIGS. 7A and7B) and/or the panel (e.g., feedback panel 804 or 804′ of FIGS. 7A and7B) are preferably constructed using a user profile for each of the oneor more relevant individuals. Representative information for each of theone or more relevant individuals presented in the panel includes fullname, employer, job title, supervisor's name, supervisor's electronicmail address and the user's relationship to the individual (e.g., peer,supervisor or direct report). In another embodiment of the presentteachings, based on the information received from the feedback server,the feedback plugin customizes the user interface and/or the panelpresented to the user.

FIG. 5 shows another feedback seeking process 500, according to analternate embodiment of the present teachings and that may be used toobtain, among other things, feedback on individual performance. Feedbackseeking process may begin with a step 502, which includes receiving anotification at a feedback plugin that a specified electronic content(e.g., a predefined website, a predefined web mail page or a predefinedapplication window) is active on a client device. Next, a step 504includes retrieving, in response to receiving step 502, at least aportion of the specified electronic content from the client device intothe feedback plugin.

Then, a step 506 is implemented and it includes analyzing at least theportion of the specified electronic content mentioned in step 504, toidentify information relating to potential mention of one or moreindividuals in the specified electronic content.

Process 500 then proceeds to step 508, which includes conveying, fromthe feedback plugin to a feedback server, the information relating topotential mention of one or more of the individuals to gain insight intowhether the information relating to potential mention of one or more ofthe individuals in the specified content is related to one or morerelevant individuals. As explained before, one or more relevantindividuals are those that the user is qualified to provide feedbackfor.

After the conclusion of step 508, step 510 includes accepting from thefeedback server the user profile for one or more of the relevantindividuals.

Finally, process 500 may end with step 512, which includes displayingand/or causing to display a user interface and/or a panel for obtainingfeedback on at least some of the relevant individuals. In this step, theuser interface and/or panel is disposed on or adjacent to the electroniccontent on the client device, and is constructed using the user profilementioned in accepting step 510.

In one preferred embodiment of the present teachings, feedback seekingprocess 500, as described above, details the salient steps involvedbetween one or more client devices (e.g., client device 104/106 of FIG.1 and 204/304, 206/306 of FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively) and a feedbackplugin (e.g., feedback plugin 214/314, 226/326 of FIGS. 2 and 3,respectively). Before carrying out receiving step 502, process 500preferably includes a step of subscribing to an electronic content(e.g., predefined website, predefined web mail or predefined applicationwindow) that is capable of being accessed on the client device. In thisstep, the feedback plugin may perform a variety of functions dependingon the type of electronic content present or active on the clientdevice. The subscribing step performed in connection with process 500 issubstantially similar to the one discussed in relation to process 400 ofFIG. 4. Moreover all variations and different embodiments described withrespect to process 400 of FIG. 4 equally apply to process 500 of FIG. 5.In other words, with respect to the web browser embodiments, theutilizing step (i.e., utilizing a built-in API of the web browser toprovide information relating to potential mention of one or moreindividuals), the accepting step (i.e., accepting the notification fromthe client device to transform the feedback plugin from a non-activatedstate to an activated state of operation) and the monitoring step (i.e.,monitoring changes in the web site) discussed in connection with process400 of FIG. 4 also apply to process 500 of FIG. 5. Similarly, withrespect to the application window embodiments, the utilizing step (i.e.,utilizing Accessibility API of the operating system to provideinformation relating to potential mention of one or more individuals),the accepting step and the monitoring step (both of which aresubstantially similar to those described in the web site embodiments)discussed in connection with process 400 of FIG. 4 also apply to process500 of FIG. 5. Different implementations of the monitoring stepdescribed in connection with process 400 of FIG. 4 also apply to process500 of FIG. 5.

In the context of an applications window, the above-mentioned monitoringstep includes detecting, using the feedback plugin, one or moremonitoring signals generated from the relevant applications to infercontextual information that may be informative regarding identity of oneor more individuals. The present teachings recognize many ways tomonitor applications. By way of example, monitoring one or moreapplications includes monitoring a signal produced by suchapplication(s) and the signal is not supported or not documented by theelectronic content provider or application vendor. In one scenario ofthis example, a software vendor may not support the signal that thesoftware produces. In another scenario of this example, an applicationvendor (e.g., Microsoft) and/or electronic content provider (e.g.,Google providing Gmail or Yahoo providing Yahoo mail or an internalcompany electronic mail system) may not support the signal produced bythe application (which may be an electronic mail application).

In certain aspects of the present teachings, receiving step 502 of FIG.5, is not initiated when a user highlights hypertext, text or a portionof a web page. In one implementation of the present teachings,displaying and/or causing to display step 512 does not present a userinterface and/or a panel to gather feedback regarding one or moreproducts, their features and attributes. Further, in anotherimplementation of the present teachings, displaying and/or causing todisplay step 512 does not present a user interface and/or a panel togather feedback regarding business entities and their quality ofoperation and service.

The present teachings recognize various ways of implementing conveyingstep 508 of FIG. 5. In accordance with one embodiment of the presentteachings, this step includes conveying the information (about thepotential mention relating to one or more of the individuals) through arequest from the feedback plugin to the feedback server to resolve theinformation relating to potential mention of one or more of theindividuals. In other words, the feedback server is requested todetermine whether the information conveyed identifies any individuals.The feedback plugin's request is chosen front a group comprising networkrequest, web request and feedback plugin request. A network request mayuse one or more types of networks for conveying the feedback plugin'srequest. A web request may use a specific communication protocol (e.g.,HTTP protocol) for conveying the feedback plugin's request. The feedbackplugin request may use certain instructions programmed into the feedbackplugin for conveying the request.

FIG. 6 shows another feedback seeking process 600, according to yetanother alternate embodiment of the present teachings and that may beused to obtain, among other things, feedback on individual performance.Feedback seeking process may begin with a step 602, which includesreceiving a signal that an electronic mail is active on a client device.The electronic mail identifies a sender and one or more recipients ofthe electronic mail. Furthermore, the signal is received when theelectronic mail is or was active on the client device, which isassociated with a user.

Next, a step 604 includes conveying information regarding the sender andone or more of the recipients to a feedback server.

After step 604 has concluded, then a step 606 is carried out. This stepincludes identifying, based on the information regarding the sender andone or more of the recipients mentioned in conveying step 604, one ormore relevant individuals that the user is qualified to provide feedbackfor. In this step, one or more of the relevant individuals include atleast one of the sender and/or one or more of the recipients.

Process 600 may conclude with step 608, which includes displaying and/orcausing to display, on the client device, a user interface or a panelfor seeking feedback from the user regarding individual performance ofthe relevant individuals.

Process 600 may include a subscribing step that is substantially similarto that described in connection with process 400 and 500. Moreover allvariations and different embodiments described with respect to process400 of FIG. 4 and process 500 of FIG. 5 may well be applied duringimplementation of process 600 of FIG. 6. In other words, with respect tothe web browser embodiments, the utilizing step (i.e., utilizing abuilt-in API of the web browser to provide information relating topotential mention of one or more individuals), the accepting step andthe monitoring step discussed in connection with process 400 of FIG. 4and process 500 of FIG. 5 may well apply to process 600 of FIG. 6.Similarly, with respect to the application window embodiments, theutilizing step (i.e., utilizing Accessibility API of the operatingsystem to provide information relating to potential mention of one ormore individuals), the accepting step and the monitoring step discussedin connection with process 400 of FIG. 4 and process 500 of FIG. 5 mayapply when implementing process 600 of FIG. 6. Different implementationsof the monitoring step described in connection with process 400 of FIG.4 and process 500 of FIG. 5 may also apply to process 600 of FIG. 6.

In one embodiment of the present teachings, the user is one of therecipients of the electronic mail. According to one aspect, receivingstep 602 of the present teachings includes accepting, from the client, arequest for information regarding the sender and/or one or more of therecipient associated with the electronic mail. As shown in FIG. 3, theclient device may have installed thereon a mail client and feedbackplugin, and in this configuration, receiving step 602 includes the mailclient conveys the signal to the feedback plugin, which iscommunicatively coupled to the feedback server. The feedback plugininteracts with the feedback server when the electronic mail is active onthe client device (e.g., an act by the user or by the mail client thatdisplays the electronic mail on the client device).

When a user interface and/or a panel is displayed, according toprocesses 400, 500, 600 of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, respectively, or acombination thereof, then an additional transmitting step may beperformed. In this step, feedback of the user regarding at least one ofthe relevant individuals is transmitted to another user. In one aspectof the present teachings, another user is one of the relevant individualor is different from the each of the relevant individuals.

The present teachings also offer preferred feedback seeking processes,which represent a combination feedback seeking process 400 of FIG. 4 andfeedback seeking process 500 of FIG. 5. One implementation of suchpreferred methods begins with a receiving step that include receiving anotification at a feedback plugin that a specified electronic content isactive on a client device that is associated with a user. During thisreceiving step, the feedback plugin is communicatively coupled to theclient device.

Next, a retrieving step is performed. This step includes retrieving,using the feedback plugin and in response to the above-mentionedreceiving step, at least a portion of the specified electronic contentfrom the client device into the feedback plugin.

Then, an analyzing step is carried out by the feedback plugin.Specifically, at least the portion of the specified electronic contentis analyzed to identify information relating to potential mention of oneor more individuals in the specified electronic content. In one aspect,the analyzing step of the present teachings is carried out when thespecified electronic content is active on the client device.

In some instances, the portion of the specified electronic contentretrieved into the feedback plugin contains information that does notcontribute to determining the identity of any individual, then in theseinstances, the analyzing step may include filtering out such extraneousinformation to arrive at information relating to potential mention ofone or more individuals.

In certain embodiments of the present teachings, the analyzing step mayconsider the following types of information extraneous and therefore,not include such information in its analysis: (1) user interaction withcontent and/or a product; or (2) presence of one or more businessentities or an individual's name associated with an area. It isnoteworthy that at the end of the analyzing step, the informationrelating to potential mention of one or more individuals does notnecessarily include the identity of any individual.

After the analyzing step has concluded, the preferred feedback seekingprocess then proceeds to a conveying step, which includes conveying theinformation relating to potential mention of one or more of theindividuals from the feedback plugin to a feedback server to gaininsight into the information relating to potential mention of one ormore of the individuals in the specified content.

The feedback server, in the preferred embodiments of the presentteachings, advances an identifying step, which includes identifying oneor more relevant individuals based on the information relating topotential mention of one or more of the individuals (obtained from theanalyzing step).

The feedback server next performs a collecting step. This includescollecting additional information about one or more of the relevantindividuals to generate a user profile for each of one or more of therelevant individuals. As will be explained later that a user interfaceand/or a panel is presented on the client device and that the userinterface and/or the panel is constructed using the user profileinformation.

Referring back to the above-mentioned preferred feedback seekingprocess, upon conclusion of the collecting step, a transmitting step iscarried out. In this step, the feedback server transmits to the feedbackplugin, the user profile about at least some of the relevant individualsthat the user is qualified to provide feedback for. The user profileprovided by the feedback server, in the transmitting step, is preferablymore informative about one or more of the relevant individuals than theinformation relating to potential mention of one or more of theindividuals (obtained from the analyzing step). T

The preferred feedback seeking process may come to an end with adisplaying and/or a causing to display step. In this step, the feedbackserver and/or the feedback plugin display and/or cause to display a userinterface and/or a panel for obtaining feedback on at least some of therelevant individuals. The user interface and/or the panel is displayedand/or caused to be displayed on or adjacent to the electronic contenton the client device. In this embodiment of the present teachings, theuser interface and/or the panel are constructed using the user profile.Furthermore, in the displaying and/or the causing to display step, theweb server provides the specified electronic content and the feedbackserver and/or the feedback plugin provide the user interface and/or thepanel. In this configuration, the feedback server is different from theweb server.

The above-described feedback seeking processes (e.g., feedback seekingprocesses 400, 500, 600 and combinations thereof) are not limited toonly seeking feedback, but also extends to assigning tasks to relevantindividuals, conveying a “to-do list” to relevant individuals, sharingan agenda between the user and one or more relevant individuals andmanaging goals of the user and/or one or more of the relevantindividuals and/or teams. As a result, feedback seeking process bethought of as a task assigning process, a list conveying process, anagenda sharing process or a goal management process that does notnecessarily provide feedback. Furthermore, regardless of the processimplemented to display and/or cause to display the user interface and/orthe panel, the user inputs at least one of feedback, task list, “to-dolist,” agenda and goals in the user interface and/or panel and suchinput is received by the client device. In one preferred embodiment ofthe present teachings, the user inputs is ultimately stored at thefeedback server so that it may be later retrieved for further review bythe user or others.

The present arrangements also provide a system for interacting with aclient device. The system includes: (1) a feedback server containinginstructions for seeking feedback and/or information relating to workdeliverables to the client device; (2) a network serving as acommunication interface between the feedback server and a feedbackplugin; and (3) the feedback plugin is located on the client device andreceives information and/or signals from a mail client and/or a websiteto process information about one or more individuals.

In this system, the information relating to work deliverables mayinclude information to facilitate assigning tasks to individuals,information conveying a “to-do list,” information to facilitate sharingan agenda between two or more users and information to facilitatemanaging goals of teams and/or individuals. The mail client receiveselectronic mail from an electronic mail server and/or an electronic mailweb server.

Each of FIGS. 8 and 9 shows a table, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention and that presents exemplar code to implement certainsalient functions of the feedback plugin and the feedback server,respectively.

Although illustrative embodiments of this invention have been shown anddescribed, other modifications, changes, and substitutions are intended.Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construedbroadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure, asset forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of seeking feedback, said methodcomprising: receiving, at a feedback server from a feedback plugin,information relating to potential mention of one or more individuals togain insight into whether identity of one or more of said individuals ispresent in an electronic content, wherein said information relating topotential mention of one or more of said individuals does notnecessarily convey knowledge about one or more of said individuals, andwherein said electronic content is or was active on a client device,said feedback plugin is communicatively coupled to the client deviceassociated with a user, and said feedback server is communicativelycoupled to said feedback plugin through a network; identifying one ormore relevant individuals, if information relating to identity of one ormore of said individuals is present in said information relating topotential mention of one or more of said individuals obtained from saidreceiving and if one or more of said individuals are those that saidfeedback server determines said user to be qualified to provide feedbackfor; collecting, using said feedback server, additional informationabout one or more of said relevant individuals to generate a userprofile for each of one or more of said relevant individuals;transmitting, from said feedback server to said feedback plugin, saiduser profile, wherein said user profile provided by said feedback serveris more informative about one or more of said relevant individuals thansaid information relating to potential mention of one or more of saidindividuals that was received at said feedback server; and displayingand/or causing to display, using said feedback server and/or saidfeedback plugin and on or adjacent to said electronic content on saidclient device, a user interface and/or a panel for obtaining feedback onat least some of said relevant individuals, wherein said user interfaceand/or said panel is constructed using said user profile, wherein duringsaid displaying and/or said causing to display, an electronic contentprovider provides said specified electronic content and said feedbackserver and/or said feedback plugin provide said user interface and/orsaid panel, and wherein said feedback server is different from saidelectronic content provider.
 2. The method of seeking feedback of claim1, wherein said feedback plugin is part of or communicatively coupled toa web browser installed on said client device, wherein said web browserhosts said electronic content in form of a web page on said clientdevice, and wherein said electronic content provider is a web server. 3.The method of seeking feedback of claim 1, wherein said feedback pluginis part of or communicatively coupled to a web-based mail clientinstalled on said client device, wherein a web browser hosts saidweb-based mail client page on said client device, and wherein saidelectronic content provider is a web-based mail server.
 4. The method ofseeking feedback of claim 1, wherein said feedback plugin iscommunicatively coupled to an application installed on said clientdevice and wherein said application is communicatively coupled to saidelectronic content provider.
 5. The method of seeking feedback of claim1, wherein an application-based mail client hosts said electroniccontent, which is electronic mail, on said client device and whereinsaid electronic content provider is an application-based server.
 6. Themethod of seeking feedback of claim 1, further comprising receiving atsaid feedback server feedback that is written by said user.
 7. Themethod of seeking feedback of claim 1, wherein said displaying and/orsaid causing to display includes: determining an appropriate locationand/or size of said user interface and/or said panel for gatheringfeedback to display on said client device; and positioning said userinterface and/or said panel for gathering feedback next to saidelectronic content.
 8. The method of seeking feedback of claim 1,wherein said feedback server provides at least one information relatedto one or more of said relevant individuals and that is chosen from agroup comprising full name, employer, job title, supervisor's name,supervisor's email address and user's relationship to said relevantindividual.
 9. The method of seeking feedback of claim 8, wherein saidfeedback plugin provides said user interface and/or said panel that iscustomized based on information received from feedback server.
 10. Amethod of seeking feedback, said method comprising: receiving a signalfrom a client device associated with a user that an electronic mail isactive on the client device, wherein said electronic mail identifies asender and one or more recipients of said electronic mail; conveyinginformation regarding said sender and one or more of said recipients toa feedback server; identifying, using said feedback server and based onsaid information regarding said sender and one or more of saidrecipients, one or more relevant individuals that said user is qualifiedto provide feedback for, wherein one or more of said relevantindividuals include at least one of said sender and/or one or more ofsaid recipients; and displaying and/or causing to display, on saidclient device, a user interface or a panel for seeking feedback fromsaid user regarding individual performance of said relevant individuals.11. The method of seeking feedback of claim 10, wherein said user is oneof said recipients.
 12. The method of seeking feedback of claim 10,wherein said receiving said signal from said client device comprisesaccepting from said client device, a request for information regardingsaid sender and/or one or more of said recipients associated with saidelectronic mail.
 13. The method of seeking feedback of claim 10, whereinsaid client device has installed thereon a mail client and a feedbackplugin, wherein during said receiving said signal, said mail clientconveys said signal to said feedback plugin, which is communicativelycoupled to said feedback server and interacts with said feedback serverwhen said electronic mail is active on said client device.
 14. Themethod of seeking feedback of claim 13, wherein said electronic mailbeing active on said mail client involves an act by said user or by saidmail client that displays said electronic mail on said client device.15. The method of seeking feedback of claim 10, further comprisingtransmitting feedback of said user regarding at least one of saidrelevant individuals to another client device related to another user,and wherein said another user is one of said relevant individuals or anindividual that is different from each of said relevant individuals. 16.A method of seeking feedback, said method comprising: receiving anotification at a feedback plugin that a specified electronic content isactive on a client device, which is associated with a user, wherein saidfeedback plugin is communicatively coupled to said client device;retrieving, using said feedback plugin and in response to said receivingof said notification, at least a portion of said specified electroniccontent from said client device into said feedback plugin; analyzing,using said feedback plugin, at least said portion of said specifiedelectronic content to identify information relating to potential mentionof one or more individuals in said specified electronic content;conveying said information relating to potential mention of one or moreof said individuals from said feedback plugin to a feedback server togain insight into whether said information relating to potential mentionof one or more of said individuals in said specified content is relatedto one or more relevant individuals, wherein one or more relevantindividuals are those that said user is qualified to provide feedbackfor; accepting from said feedback server said user profile for one ormore of said relevant individuals; and displaying and/or causing todisplay, using said feedback server and/or said feedback plugin and onor adjacent to said electronic content on said client device, a userinterface and/or a panel for obtaining feedback on at least sore of saidrelevant individuals, wherein said user interface and/or said panel isconstructed using said user profile, wherein in said displaying and/orsaid causing to display, said web server provides said specifiedelectronic content and said feedback server and/or said feedback pluginprovides said user interface and/or said panel, and wherein saidfeedback server is different from said web server.
 17. The method ofseeking feedback regarding an individual performance of claim 16,further comprising subscribing, using a feedback plugin, to saidspecified electronic content that is capable of being accessed on saidclient device, wherein said subscribing comprises: accepting at afeedback plugin a notification from said client device that a predefinedwebsite or a predefined application is launched on said client devicesuch that said feedback plugin transforms from a non-activated state toan activated state; and monitoring changes in content on said predefinedwebsite or said predefined application to identify when said content onsaid predefined website or said predefined application includesinformation relating to potential mention of one or more saidindividuals.
 18. The method of seeking feedback of claim 16, whereinwhen said specified electronic content includes a predefined websiteloaded onto a web browser, and said method further comprises: utilizing,via programming, a built-in application program interface (“API”) ofsaid web browser to provide said notification to said feedback pluginwhen said predefined website is loaded and/or displayed on said webbrowser on said client device; and accepting said notification atfeedback plugin that said predefined website is loaded and/or displayedon said web browser on said client device and transforming said feedbackplugin from a non-activated state to an activated state of operating;monitoring, in said activated state of said feedback plugin, changes insaid predefined website to identify said information relating topotential mention of one or more said individuals.
 19. The method ofseeking feedback of claim 18, wherein said monitoring includes screenscraping said predefined website.
 20. The method of seeking feedback ofclaim 18, wherein said monitoring includes monitoring for receipt of adocument object model (“DOM”) mutation event notification at saidfeedback plugin from said client device when structure of a DOMassociated with said predefined website undergoes a change.
 21. Themethod of seeking feedback of claim 16, wherein when said specifiedelectronic content includes a predefined application operating on saidclient device, said receiving comprises: programming an AccessibilityAPI of an operating system installed on said client device to providesaid notification to said feedback plugin when a new or differentapplication is loaded and/or displayed on said client device; andaccepting said notification at feedback plugin that a new or differentapplication is loaded and/or displayed on said client device andtransforming said feedback plugin from a non-activated state to anactivated state; monitoring, in said activated state of said feedbackplugin, said new or said different application to identify saidinformation relating to potential mention of one or more saidindividuals.
 22. The method of seeking feedback of claim 21, whereinsaid monitoring includes determining, using said Accessibility API, whenuser interacts with said new or said different application and/or whencertain predefined scripts are executed on the client device.
 23. Themethod of seeking feedback of claim 16, said specific electronic contentincludes at least one content type chosen from a group comprisingelectronic mail, web page and application.
 24. The method of seekingfeedback of claim 16, wherein said client device has installed thereon aweb browser and said specified electronic content is a website that ispresented by said web browser, and wherein said feedback plugin isconfigured to receive said information from said website.
 25. The methodof seeking feedback of claim 16, wherein said specific electroniccontent includes an applications window providing information about someof said relevant individuals and said applications window includes atleast one window chosen from a group comprising browser window, chatwindow and calendar window.
 26. The method of seeking feedback of claim16, wherein said analyzing includes determining if said specifiedelectronic content is a type of an electronic page that contains saidinformation relating to potential mention of one or more of saidindividuals.
 27. The method of seeking feedback of claim 16, whereinsaid analyzing includes screen scraping of said specified electroniccontent, wherein said screen scraping includes monitoring content of apredefined HTML page or a predefined section of said predefined HTMLpage to determine if there is a change in said content of saidpredefined HTML page or change in said predefined section of saidpredefined HTML page.
 28. The method of seeking feedback of claim 16,wherein in said conveying includes conveying said information through arequest from said feedback plugin to said feedback server to resolvesaid information relating to potential mention of one or more of saidindividuals, wherein said request is chosen from a group comprisingnetwork request, web request and feedback plugin request, and whereinsaid network request uses one or more types of networks for conveyingsaid request, said web request uses a specific communication protocolfor conveying said request and said feedback plugin request uses certaininstructions programmed into said feedback plugin for conveying saidrequest.
 29. The method of seeking feedback of claim 16, wherein saidclient device does not voluntarily provide communication regardingactive status of said electronic content.
 30. The method of seekingfeedback of claim 16, wherein said client device does not include aninterface that provides status of said specified electronic content inthe absence of a prompt that requests status of said specifiedelectronic content.
 31. The method of seeking feedback of claim 16,wherein said receiving is not initiated as a result of said userhighlighting hypertext in a website or a portion of a webpage.
 32. Themethod of seeking feedback of claim 16, wherein in said displayingand/or said causing to be displayed, said user interface and/or saidpanel seeks feedback on performance of at least some of said identifiedindividuals, and does not seek feedback regarding products and/orbusiness entities.
 33. The method of seeking feedback of claim 16,further comprising: monitoring, using said feedback plugin, one or moreapplications running on said client device; and identifying, among oneor more of said applications, one or more relevant applications thatlend themselves to analysis by said feedback plugin.
 34. The method ofseeking feedback of claim 33, wherein said monitoring includesdetecting, using said feedback plugin, one or more monitoring signalsgenerated from said relevant applications to infer contextualinformation that is potentially informative regarding identity of one ormore of said individuals.
 35. The method of seeking feedback of claim33, wherein said monitoring one or more applications includes monitoringa signal produced by one or more of said applications and said signal isnot supported or not documented by said electronic content provider orapplication vendor.
 36. The method of seeking feedback of claim 33,wherein said monitoring one or more applications includes monitoring asignal generated by interaction of said user with said application. 37.The method of seeking feedback of claim 36, wherein said interactions ofsaid user include any one actions chosen from a group comprising mouseclicks, keyboard presses, screen touches and gestures.
 38. The method ofseeking feedback of claim 28, wherein said monitoring one or moreapplications includes monitoring a signal generated by changes in saidclient device's user interface.
 39. The method of seeking feedback ofclaim 38, wherein said changes in said client device's user interfaceinclude new screen loading and/or content changes on said client device.40. A method of obtaining feedback, said method comprising: receiving anotification at a feedback plugin that a specified electronic content isactive on a client device, which is associated with a user, wherein saidfeedback plugin is communicatively coupled to said client device;retrieving, using said feedback plugin and in response to said receivingof said notification, at least a portion of said specified electroniccontent from said client device into said feedback plugin; analyzing,using said feedback plugin, at least said portion of said specifiedelectronic content to identify information relating to potential mentionof one or more individuals in said specified electronic content;conveying said information relating to potential mention of one or moreof said individuals from said feedback plugin to a feedback server togain insight into said information relating to potential mention of oneor more of said individuals in said specified content; identifying,using said feedback server, one or more relevant individuals based onsaid information relating to potential mention of one or more of saidindividuals identified in said analyzing; collecting, using saidfeedback server, additional information about one or more of saidrelevant individuals to generate a user profile for each of one or moreof said relevant individuals; transmitting, from said feedback server tosaid feedback plugin, said user profile about at least some of saidrelevant individuals that said user is qualified to provide feedbackfor, wherein said user profile provided by said feedback server is moreinformative about one or more of said relevant individuals than saidinformation relating to potential mention of one or more of saidindividuals; and displaying and/or causing to display, using saidfeedback server and/or said feedback plugin and on or adjacent to saidelectronic content on said client device, a user interface and/or apanel for obtaining feedback on at least some of said relevantindividuals, wherein said user interface and/or said panel isconstructed using said user profile, wherein in said displaying and/orsaid causing to display, said web server provides said specifiedelectronic content and said feedback server and/or said feedback pluginprovides said user interface and/or said panel, and wherein saidfeedback server is different from said web server.
 41. The method forproviding feedback of claim 40, wherein said analyzing is carried outwhen said specified electronic content is active on said client device.42. The method for providing feedback of claim 40, wherein saidanalyzing does not include analyzing user interaction with contentand/or product.
 43. The method for providing feedback of claim 40,wherein said analyzing does not include determining presence of one ormore entities or said individuals associated with a selected area. 44.The method for providing feedback of claim 40, wherein in saidanalyzing, said information relating to potential mention of one or moreindividuals does not necessarily include information about identity ofone or more said relevant individuals.
 45. The method for providingfeedback of claim 40, wherein said specified electronic content iselectronic mail that is active on a client device, which is a mailclient and that receives said electronic mail from a mail server, andwherein said mail server is different from said feedback server.
 46. Themethod for providing feedback of claim 40, wherein in said analyzingincludes filtering said specified electronic content to removeextraneous information and arrive at said information relating topotential mention of one or more of said individuals.
 47. A system forseeking feedback regarding individual performance, said systemcomprising: a feedback server containing instructions for providingfeedback and/or work deliverables to said client device; network servingas a communication interface between said feedback server and a feedbackplugin; and wherein said feedback plugin is located on said clientdevice and receives information and/or signals from a mail client and/ora website.
 48. The system for interacting with said client device ofclaim 47, wherein said work deliverables include task lists that areshared among one or more users and/or a to-do list that is generated byparticipation of one or more participants.